Ainsworth Chair Quits as Bonus Row Intensifies

Key Points

• Danny Gladstone and Mark Ludski resigned from AGT on 5 June 2026, after media reports alleged they received undisclosed payments of AU$10 million and AU$5 million respectively, linked to Novomatic’s 2018 stake acquisition.
• Graeme Campbell has been appointed as the new non-executive chair, with Lynn Mah and Andrew Kabega stepping in as joint interim company secretaries.
• AGT shares hit an over eight-year high on the day of the resignations, closing at A$1.600, as Kjerulf Ainsworth continues building his minority stake at prices well above Novomatic’s standing bid.

AGT Chair and Secretary Walk Out After Hidden Payment Claims Go Public

Ainsworth Game Technology (AGT) shares hit an over eight-year high on 5 June 2026. Not because of a strong earnings report. Not because of a new product. Two of the company’s most senior figures had just walked out the door.

Non-executive chair Danny Gladstone and company secretary Mark Ludski both quit with immediate effect, the ASX-listed gaming machine maker confirmed in a filing the same day.

The exits follow reporting by the Australian Financial Review in February 2026, which claimed AGT founder Len Ainsworth paid Gladstone AU$10 million and Ludski AU$5 million shortly after Novomatic took a majority stake in AGT, a deal that closed in early 2018. Gladstone was CEO at the time. Ludski was CFO. Neither payment is said to have appeared in the disclosure reports that were supposed to cover transaction-related bonus arrangements.

Two Men, Two Decades, One Exit Statement

Gladstone joined AGT in 2007, working first as chief executive and executive director before moving into the chairman’s role in 2019. Ludski came aboard in 2000 and stayed for roughly 22 years as CFO. Together, they sat at the centre of the company’s biggest financial and operational calls, including the period when a controlling stake was handed to one of the world’s largest gaming suppliers.

When they left, neither man confirmed nor pushed back on what had been reported. In the ASX filing, both said they had chosen to step down “in light of recent media reports regarding personal payments made to them over eight years ago,” and that they had “decided it is in the best interests of AGT for them to resign so that AGT can move past these distracting complaints in order to focus on the execution of its strategic priorities.”

The board kept its own response brief: “The board wishes to acknowledge and express their appreciation to both Mr Gladstone and Mr Ludski for their leadership and significant contributions to AGT over many years with the company.”

Exit management language. A door closed, quietly, with no inquiry opened behind it.

New Names, Same Tensions

Replacements came in the same announcement. Graeme Campbell, an independent non-executive director since 2007 with over 30 years in corporate consultancy for the hotels and registered clubs sector, stepped into the chair role. He also joined AGT’s regulatory and compliance committee, with non-executive director Heather Scheibenstock taking Gladstone’s place as chair of that group. Lynn Mah, who currently serves as AGT’s CFO and previously held the role of assistant company secretary, and Andrew Kabega from corporate advisory firm BoardRoom PTY were named interim joint company secretaries. A new independent non-executive director will follow, though no timeline has been given.

What Gladstone’s Exit Really Means for Novomatic?

Gladstone was not a passive chair. He had actively backed Novomatic’s push to strengthen its grip on AGT, a position that put him on a direct collision course with Kjerulf Ainsworth, son of company founder Len and the largest minority shareholder in the business. When the Australian Financial Review allegations broke, Kjerulf was the one who went public first, calling for both men to go and framing the payments as part of a string of what he called “terrible decisions” by Gladstone over the past year. With both now gone, a Novomatic-friendly voice has been cut from the boardroom at the exact moment the ownership battle is picking up speed.

Novomatic holds 66.6% of AGT, a stake it has built up steadily since Len Ainsworth sold it a 53% share in 2016. Taking the company private requires 75%. That line has not been crossed, and Kjerulf is pouring money into making sure it never is.

A$1.60, A$1.30, A$1.00: What the Numbers Actually Say

Novomatic’s standing offer puts AGT shares at A$1 each, a figure Kjerulf has called an undervaluation from the start, insisting the shares are worth closer to A$3. His buying behaviour has matched his words. Earlier this year, he launched an off-market proportional bid for 5.5% of each existing shareholder’s stake at A$1.30 per share. That offer closed in April.

Since then, he has gone straight to the open market, putting in more than A$6m of his own money over 12 weeks, each purchase coming at a higher price than the last. The biggest move came on 2 June, when he bought just over two million shares at A$1.60 each, well above both Novomatic’s standing bid and his own earlier off-market offer.

His stake now sits at 9.55%, locked in by a 3 June filing. Blocking Novomatic’s privatisation push on its own would require more than 25% of AGT’s stock. The distance between 9.55% and that number is not small. Still, a man paying A$1.60 a share when the other side is offering A$1.00 is not building a position he plans to exit quietly.

The Fight Crossed into Wisconsin

The dispute between Kjerulf and Novomatic was never going to stay within Australia’s borders. The Forest County Potawatomi Gaming Commission in Wisconsin opened a suitability review of AGT’s US subsidiary, AGT US, after Kjerulf submitted allegations directly to the regulator. According to documentation reviewed by the media, the commission looked into what was described as “corporate governance deficiencies and undisclosed financial transactions” involving AGT US executives, with the review running alongside criminal proceedings in Austria that touched Novomatic. In the same 5 June announcement, AGT said the commission had found the subsidiary had “fully complied with all requests” and renewed its licence on 28 May 2026, with no negative consequences for its regulatory standing.

The CEO Exit Came First. It Was Messier

Gladstone and Ludski are not the first senior figures to leave AGT under pressure. Former CEO Harald Neumann’s time at the company came apart in late 2025, when the Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended he withdraw his licence renewal application in October of that year. That recommendation came after reports surfaced that Neumann had been under investigation by Austria’s Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office over alleged involvement in the Ibiza affair, a scandal in which opposition politicians were secretly filmed agreeing to hand out government contracts in exchange for positive media coverage. The investigations centred on his time running Novomatic.

Ryan Comstock was named AGT’s permanent CEO on 11 May 2026, after spending six months in the role on an acting basis. He had been the company’s Chief Operating Officer since 2018, making him the first CEO the company had promoted from within in years. Kjerulf had not left much room for interpretation when the Nevada situation emerged. “If he doesn’t have a licence, he can’t stay as CEO. It’s that simple,” he told Australia’s ABC.

Expert Analysis

Two people leaving does not settle anything. Novomatic holds 66.6% of AGT and wants 75%. Kjerulf sits at 9.55% and keeps buying at prices Novomatic refuses to match. The real story is not in the resignations. It lives in the gap between A$1.00 and A$1.60, and in the wider gap between 66.6% and 75%.

A Novomatic-friendly chair is gone. A new CEO is barely weeks into the job. AGT’s share price is at an eight-year high. Minority investors have three things to watch: whether any regulator formally pursues the disclosure questions raised in February, how quickly Kjerulf’s ASX filings show further stake increases, and whether Novomatic decides its A$1 valuation can no longer hold. At the May 2026 AGM, Kjerulf said plainly: “I’m not selling.” His buying activity since then has made that point better than any statement could.